Sandhills Elixir Sage Zero Proof Gimlet: Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice cubes. Add 4 ounces Sandhills Elixir Sage, 2 ounces fresh lime juice, 2 ounces simple syrup. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Strain the mixture into two martini glasses. Garnish each with a lime wedge.
Mocktail recipes are available everywhere. Sandhills Elixir makes several zero proof elixirs, and they are available at The Butte Bakery. Why try a mocktail? Because it’s Dry January.
This was a new concept to me – I hadn’t heard of Dry January before this year. Drinking is a big part of life in America, especially celebrations. We toast at weddings. We go out for drinks with friends. Restaurants offer a large selection of wines, beers, and mixed drinks with our meals. Parties and get-togethers in our homes usually involve alcohol.
Why is Dry January becoming more popular every year? There are benefits to giving up alcohol. You save money and you improve your health.
The cost of alcohol has gone up, both in stores and in restaurants and bars. How much a person spends varies widely, from nothing to hundreds of dollars a month. We drink different amounts and we have different tastes that affect the quality of what we purchase. Some people spend hundreds of dollars for a bottle of great wine. There are so many price levels for every type of alcohol. Where you drink also affects what you spend.
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center website says that a 2018 study showed that regular drinkers who took a monthlong break from alcohol saw improvement in four key areas: weight, blood pressure, liver function, and sleep.
We think of alcohol as a depressant, a good way to relax and unwind. However, alcohol causes fragmented sleep, which means you won’t get deep sleep and you’ll wake up more often.
Last Friday, January 3, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued an advisory warning Americans that alcohol consumption can increase their cancer risk. “Alcohol is a well-established, preventable cause of cancer responsible for about 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States – greater than the 13,500 alcohol-associated traffic crash fatalities per year in the US – yet the majority of Americans are unaware of this risk,” Murthy said. He is asking Congress to require a health warning label on alcoholic beverages.
The advisory, found on the website for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, outlines the direct link between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk. Alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity, increasing risk for at least seven types of cancer: breast, colorectum, esophagus, liver, mouth (oral cavity), throat (pharynx), and voice box (larynx). For breast cancer specifically, 16.4% of total breast cancer cases are attributable to alcohol consumption. It doesn’t matter what type of alcohol (e.g., beer, wine, and spirits) is consumed.
Need some help? Search for NPR Dry January. You will get the option to subscribe to Life Kit’s Guide to Dry January, giving you strategies to help. Even though we are well into the month, you can start your journey any time.
So – Dry January? That mocktail might be worth a try.